We are running Exchange 2003 Standard edition with approx 120 mailboxes currently. The database size (priv1.edb) is sitting at 50gb, and the stream (priv1.stm) is almost 12gb. To allow these sizes, I have unfortunately resorted to changing the registery value to allow up to 70gb (75gb is the limit with SP2).
We currently institute no mailbox size limits, though that is my goal very soon. A handful of users have boxes between 1-2gb, and I am working toward helping them archive to reduce. Although I have made great strides in archiving users mail off, and deleting entire boxes of terminated employees, the DB size continues to get incrementally bigger. It has grown almost 2gb in less than two months, and this takes into account all this clean up work I've done.
Everything I am reading points to an offline defrag, but that concerns me. Specifically b/c our business has a 24/7 Ops center that relies on email. The dismount and defrag would take 12-15 hours, and I just don't think we can do without email that long. Plus, I fear I do not have enough hard drive space that an offline defrag will require. Can anybody suggest anything else to guard against this DB growing larger? Why is it growing when I am doing nothing but reducing mailboxes and their sizes? Thanks
We currently institute no mailbox size limits, though that is my goal very soon. A handful of users have boxes between 1-2gb, and I am working toward helping them archive to reduce. Although I have made great strides in archiving users mail off, and deleting entire boxes of terminated employees, the DB size continues to get incrementally bigger. It has grown almost 2gb in less than two months, and this takes into account all this clean up work I've done.
Everything I am reading points to an offline defrag, but that concerns me. Specifically b/c our business has a 24/7 Ops center that relies on email. The dismount and defrag would take 12-15 hours, and I just don't think we can do without email that long. Plus, I fear I do not have enough hard drive space that an offline defrag will require. Can anybody suggest anything else to guard against this DB growing larger? Why is it growing when I am doing nothing but reducing mailboxes and their sizes? Thanks
